Bette Midler does Priscilla…and Toronto

There’s no denying Bette Midler is a bit of a queen, and no doubt the sassy songbird relishes the title. So the announcement that the Beaches diva has signed on to produce the flamboyant musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert shouldn’t come as a shock; she’s apparently made a big investment in the show. What may raise a few eyebrows is that she’s also announced she’ll be taking a hands-on role in the Toronto run of the Broadway-bound production, currently in preview at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Aptly billed as “a journey to the heart of fabulous,” the musical follows the adventures of three drag queens as they travel across the Australian outback in a beaten-up bus. It’s a play that holds special appeal to an audience close to Midler’s own heart: she’s been an icon of the gay community ever since her days belting it out with Barry Manilow at New York’s Continental Baths back in the summer of 1970.

With “Bathhouse Betty” shouting orders and adjusting “over-the-shoulder boulder holders” on the set of what promises to be a lavish and boisterous production, it’s safe to say that this Priscilla will be nothing short of fabulous. Fingers crossed for a cameo in some sort of delicious feathery boa (cue chorus of Church Street sighs).